At present, a liquid crystal display device plays a dominant role in a flat-plate display device market. The liquid crystal display device mainly includes an array substrate and an opposed substrate which are provided opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the array substrate and the opposed substrate. In order to control a uniform gap between the array substrate and the opposed substrate and maintain uniformity of thickness of the liquid crystal layer, a spacer is further provided between the array substrate and the opposed substrate.
FIG. 1 is a plane schematic view illustrating an array substrate according to one technique; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view illustrating the liquid crystal display device, and the cross-sectional schematic view is cut along a line of A-A′ in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the array substrate includes a base substrate 01, and a buffer layer 02, an active layer 03, a gate insulation layer 04, a gate line layer (including a gate line 05 and a gate electrode G), an inter-layer insulation layer 06, a data line layer (including a data line 07, a source electrode S and a drain electrode D), a passivation layer 08 and a via hole 09 provided in the passivation layer 08, a pixel electrode 010, an inter-electrode insulation layer 011 and a common electrode 012, which are sequentially provided on the base substrate 01. The gate lines 05 and the data lines 07 intersect with each other to define a plurality of sub-pixels, and each sub-pixel includes a thin film transistor and the pixel electrode. In each sub-pixel, the thin film transistor is formed by the active layer 03, the gate electrode G, the source electrode S and the drain electrode D, and the pixel electrode 010 is connected with the drain electrode D of the thin film transistor through the via hole 09. The opposed substrate includes another base substrate 016, and a black matrix 013, a passivation layer 014 and a spacer 015 which are sequentially provided on the base substrate 016.
With further reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the spacer 015 is provided on the opposed substrate, and a top end thereof abuts on a flat region between adjacent sub-pixels of the array substrate. As a resolution of the liquid crystal display device increases, a size of the sub-pixel becomes smaller and smaller; in this case, since there is the via hole 09, an area of the flat region between adjacent sub-pixels of the array substrate is reduced; if the liquid crystal display device suffers an external force, the spacer 05 may easily slide into the via hole 09 and scratch an alignment layer (not shown) provided on a surface of the array substrate in the process of sliding. In the case that the spacer 05 slides into the via hole 09, it is hard to realize a uniform gap between the array substrate and the opposed substrate or maintain uniformity of the thickness of the liquid crystal layer, resulting in uneven displayed image, and decreasing display quality; and in the case that the alignment layer is scratched, abnormal alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is caused, resulting in light leakage.